As Demand Exceeds Supply, Now Is The Time To Book Holiday Travel

After a difficult but busy summer of travel, what’s clear is that there’s still a pent up urge to travel, particularly over the upcoming holiday season—but as demand is expected to outstrip supply, it’s best to book now.

People Are Planning To Travel, Regardless

Travel across Europe has rebounded. The European Office for Statistics, Eurostat, reported that nights in accommodation in the first half of 2022 has exceeded those spent in the first half of 2019—this includes stays made through Booking.com, Airbnb, TripAdvisor and Expedia. That’s 199 million nights in 2022, up 7 million on 2019 figures.

And there might be the war in Ukraine, rising energy bills and a cost of living crisis but one thing is clear—people still want to travel over the upcoming holiday season and those that can, will.

Trivago, the travel search engine, reported that the volume of travel searches for fall 2022 is up by 22% on 2021 figures and The Points Guy reported that more than half of Americans plan to travel for one or both of the holidays this year, with 70% of travelers planning to visit family and friends.

Holiday Demand Will Exceed Supply

It was a difficult summer season for the travel industry, full of cancellations, strikes, labor shortages and lost luggage. One of the results is that people will keep traveling through the fall with demand exceeding supply and prices moving upwards.

The big airlines have already started to cut their November and December flight schedules, and Thanksgiving and Christmas airfares are predicted by The Points Guy to be their highest in the last 5 years.

Which means that travel will likely fall outside the realms of affordability for lots of people, particularly as they are squeezed by the cost of living. The U.K. travel association Abta said that while demand was strong, one in three Britons said they would be cutting back on travel, with Abta predicting a strong demand for all-inclusive holidays and cheaper packages (where the spending is contained and/or paid at the outset and tourists are protected from exchange rate fluctuations).

However, in the same survey, people said they were loath to cut back entirely on travel, or at least, not at first. Travel is the fourth thing that people will most likely target, after eating out, day trips and clothing/shoes. Those that will travel will do so by taking fewer trips, going on packages and eating more cheaply once there.

How To Book Cheaper and Better Holiday Travel

There are lots of possibilities for cheaper travel over the holiday period. The most obvious is to book in advance (airlines fix schedules about 90 days in advance based upon demand but tickets are available up to 330 days before). Airlines will sometimes pay back the difference if a flight you bought early is then sold at a cheaper price, as will some hotels.

Unsurprisingly, research conducted by Expedia suggests a 5% saving if departures are on the Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday (instead of Wednesday) before Thanksgiving. Likewise, traveling in the first half of the week before Christmas (and not the 2 days before Christmas Day) can save 15%.

It goes without saying that it’s best to travel light, so that it takes less time to get through security and there are less chances for lost luggage if it isn’t checked in. And remember that the best flights to take are those earlier in the morning, when fewer people have come through the airport so there is less chance of experiencing the knock-on effects from previous delays.